1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to mobile information systems and methods of operation. More particularly, the invention relates to a telemetric contextually based spatial audio system integrated into a mobile terminal wireless system.
2. Description of Prior Art
Self-guided tours have long been used to enhance an individual's experience at art exhibits, industry trade shows, museums, cruise lines, historic sites and the like. In the past, self guided tours required the user to go from location to location and typically read written tags on each item or from a brochure. In many instances, this activity places too much of an imposition on the user and is slowly being replaced by localized audio broadcasts. Under this model, audio clips are played based on the proximity of the user to the specific item. Though easier for the individual, this model still lacks the animated and interactive experience desired in viewing items, exhibits and the like. Further, self-guided tours require the user to get within the proximity of the exhibit in order to find out what the exhibit is about, once again an imposition on the individual. In addition, once the user is at the location, the user must listen to the generalized audio even though they may only be interested, or may be particularly interested, in specific aspects of the location. Furthermore, the audio play-out has no method of directing the user's attention to particular features at the location other than to obtrusively give the user directions on where to look, which is particularly difficult since the system does not know the exact location, or the direction in which the user is facing. Finally, there is no way to personalize the audio of a particular exhibit to the individual user since the system has no ephemeral data on the user (e.g. knowing that a user has been present at a specified location, looking in a particular direction for a prolonged period of time can be construed as an area of interest) or a priori knowledge of the individual.
What is needed in the art is a system and method to animate the experience of a user relative to an item, exhibit; enable the user to hear about an item or exhibit based on their location and field of view; personalize the audio presentation based on specific interests of the individual; provide intuitive directional cues to bring attention to items of interest, and to guide the user to a desired location.
Prior art related to mobile communication systems, includes:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,934,202 issued Jan. 20, 1976 discloses an electronic tour guide system including means for suppressing objectionable crosstalk and noise. Crosstalk suppression is achieved by means of a compressor in the transmitter and an expander in the receiver. Objectionable noise between loops is eliminated by means of a squelch circuit, which reduces power drain whenever the received signal is below a certain threshold. The transmitter and receiver are designed to handle a plurality of information signals simultaneously. For example, a listener can select one of several different languages broadcast within an antenna loop. The transmitting loop antenna is matched in impedance to the output of the channel means in the transmitter so that maximum power transfer is obtained. Each receiver is further equipped with a gravity operated mercury switch which turns off power to the receiver when the receiver chassis is inverted. It is anticipated that this system will find application in museums, art galleries, archeological sites and the like where it is desirable to guide people from location to location and to address them in their respective languages.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,717,392 issued Feb. 10, 1998 discloses a position-responsive information presentation system and control. The system and control program automatically provides multimedia output that is responsive to a user's location, speed, acceleration, and directional orientation. Also disclosed is a system that receives position information from various systems, including satellite global position systems. As disclosed, the system and control program may provide video, audio and tactile outputs to users.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,459,388 issued Oct. 1, 2002 discloses a location database system provides information about nearby sites to a user. The system includes a processor configured to identify the present location of the system using the Global Positioning System. The processor is also associated with a clock providing real-time information. The clock may be the internal clock of a microprocessor serving as the processor of the system. The processor may also communicate with a remote database of sites using a wireless connection. The database includes relevant information about the sites, which may be of interest to a user of the system, such as locational information, imaging information and images, and/or tour-guide type information. A display provides a visual display of the relevant information to the user, and the system may provide setting information for the camera and also may provide travel directions to a particular site, based on a selected view as seen on a display.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,181,371 issued Jan. 30, 2001 discloses a head guide with a display is attitudinally controlled for guiding the head of a passive viewer wherein the display is for viewing images that are emulative of images viewed by a cameraman with head mounted cameras whose head attitude is monitored for controlling the head guide in synchronism with the images gathered by the cameras. Additionally, the viewer's eyes may be induced to follow a sequence of visual fixations at the same time as the passive viewer's head is induced to execute attitudinal movements consistent therewith.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,199,045 issued Mar. 6, 2001 discloses a system for providing position-related information to a mobile user includes a mobile unit and a central site server. The mobile unit includes circuitry for determining present position information from position signals, which may emanate from, for example, GPS satellites. The mobile unit further includes circuitry for establishing a wireless bi-directional communications link with the central site server via a terrestrial network, which may be accessed via a cellular telephone network. The central site server includes circuitry for receiving the present position information from the mobile unit. A table stored at the central site server includes different response information in correspondence with possible positions of the mobile unit. The response information may further be in correspondence with user preferences. The central site server uses the received present position information to retrieve corresponding response information from the table, and sends the retrieved response information to the mobile unit via the bi-directional communications link. The mobile unit further includes circuitry, such as a loudspeaker, for supplying the response information to the mobile user. In another aspect of the invention, communications between the mobile unit and the central site server are encrypted. Furthermore, the mobile unit may include components for preventing position information from being supplied to the loudspeaker, thereby eliminating distracting noise from being presented to the user.
USP Application 0020091793 published Jul. 11, 2002 discloses a method and system for tourist guiding, including both navigation and narration, utilizing mobile computing devices such as electronic books, palm computers, smart cellular phones, and future wearable computers. Loaded with, or Internet-connected to a Digital Guidebook, the system navigates the tourist to and within tour sites using an invented Visual Navigation method, and provides detailed multimedia narrations on objects along the tour. The system also navigates the tourist to other tourist destinations such as hotels and restaurants. An additional preferred embodiment combines GPS and CPS navigation with Visual Navigation. The system also creates a Digital Tour Album that captures the time and the places where the tourist has visited. The system also allows Armchair Touring and provides Tour Reviews on DVD. The Electronic Tourist Guide is based on latest mobile and wireless communication technologies and allows Internet channeling of live, timely information such as special events, latest prices and schedules. Digital Guidebooks can be downloaded to the tourist's device memory, or streamed to the tourist's device in real-time during the tour. The present invention entails two technologies: studio production and distribution of multimedia Digital Guidebooks, and use of mobile digital tourist guidebooks. The latter field entails mobile computing devices, wireless broadband Internet, and Geographic Information Systems.
None of the prior art discloses a system and method to animate the experience of a user relative to an item, exhibit, thereby enabling the user to hear about an item or exhibit based on their field of view, and personalizing the audio presentation based on specific interests. None of the prior art discloses intuitive methods of using spatial directional audio to bring the user's attention to a specific aspect of the location.
Moreover, none of the prior art discloses a mobile terminal capable of dynamically creating spatial audio sounds by using a set of locally stored impulse-response functions emulating angular positions of a sound relative to the user's head. And to this end, convolving such sounds in real-time according to the individual's head position relative to the item (e.g. to give the user a perception that the audio sound is actually emanating from a point in the object viewed by the individual).
For clarity, we refer to the spatial location at which the audio appears to be emanating from, as the “audio emanation point” (AEP). The AEP may map to a physical object, can be used as a stimuli to draw or direct the user's attention to a specified direction, or to animate the users experience using other spatial audio effects.